英美文化07 British Government.doc

英美社会与文化The British GovernmentI. CommonwealthCommonwealth of Nations, formerly (193149) British Commonwealth of Nationsis a free association of sovereign states （主权国）comprising the United Kingdom and a number of its former dependencies (附属国)who have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and practical cooperation and who acknowledge the British monarch as symbolic head of their association. In 1965 the Commonwealth Secretariat(7sekrE5tZEriEt,英联邦秘书处)was established in London to organize and coordinate Commonwealth activities.II. Constitutional Monarchy1. The monarchy has existed from 1066 to the present day for over 1, 000 years. It was broken only once during the “commonwealth” of Cromwell from 1649 (with the execution of Charles I) to 1660 (to the restoration of Charles II).2. The constitutional Monarchy consists of two major parts: the parliament (including the Queen /King), and the local governments. 3. The British Parliament consists of three parts: the Sovereign(the Crown), 君主(King or Queen) the House of Lords, 上议院and the House of Commons. 下议院4. Britain has no written constitution, but it does have a constitution formed by passed acts and convention. There were acts that settle down rules for the crown and parliamentary members to follow, and acts that guarantee the rights of common people. For example, The Act of Settlement嗣位法in 1701 outlined certain conditions with which the Monarch must comply, and The Parliament Act (国会法案) of 1911 set down certain limits on the power of the House of Lords in the making of laws. There were three reform acts (in 1832, 1884, and 1918) that extended peoples right to elect parliamentary members. (franchise) There are also conventions or customs that must be followed in practice. For instance, there is no law stating that the Crown must assent to Bills that have been passed in both Houses of Parliament, but there is a convention (since 1707) that she must do so. Any attempt to flout轻视this convention would be as serious as any attempt to ignore a written law, such as the Bill of Rights. (法治礼治相结合, The convention is as effective as any written law.)5. The British Parliament is often referred to as “the legislative” 立法机关the body that makes or unmakes laws. 6. Before a Bill (a proposed law) becomes a law, it has to be passed by the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and given consent by the Crown. The House of Commons is by far the most powerful of the three elements in Parliament. In certain kinds of Act of Parliament, e.g., Finance Bills, 财政法案the House of Lords has no power at all, and in others its powers are restricted. And since by convention the Crown always agree with bills passed by the Parliament, the real centre of the parliament is in the House of Commons. 7. The three major functions of Parliament: to make laws; to control and criticize the executive government; and to control the raising and the spending of money. III. The Queen1. The Queen (King) is the official head of Parliament, head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the head of the Judicature 5dVu:dikEtFE(judiciary司法系统) and of the executive, 行政部门an integral part of the legislature, and the temporal head of the Established Church of England (英国国教世俗的领袖，即非教会内部的领袖Different from USA president at this point). (All official letters and documents bear the initials OHMS, i.e., On Her Majestys Service. 为女王陛下效劳) 2. The Crown summons, prorogues (temporarily suspends使休会) and dissolves parliament; she confirms major public appointments such as government ministers, judges, diplomats, Church of England bishops and, the new Prime Minister after an election. (In international affairs, she has the power to declare war, make peace, recognize foreign states (认可,承认新政权) and conclude treaties. (缔结, 订立条约) But in all these instances the Crown acts on the advice of her ministers. Conferring honours授予荣誉, such as peerages 贵族的爵位and knighthoods, is also part of the Crowns job, which is usually done on the advice of the Prime Minister. A few honours are the sovereigns personal gift, among which the highest is the Most Noble Order of the Garter. (嘉德勋章,适用于英格兰, 1348年设立)(In Scotland, the Most Noble and Most Ancient Order of the Thistle蓟花勋章,适用于苏格兰, 1687年设立, 爱尔兰的最高勋章圣帕特里克勋章已经废除, Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick，1783年设立) The most common honour is the Order of the British Empire, which is divided into three grades: CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), OBE (Officer) and MBE (Member). 3. The Crown has her or his personal advisory council composed of government and non-government members, the Privy Council. (枢密院：英王的咨询委员会) In her weekly sessions with the Prime Minister, she receives reports of Cabinet meetings.4. She must be a member of the Church of England, and is expected to attend its religious services and to bring up her children according to its teachings. By the Act of Settlement (1701)王室继承法 neither the monarch nor any member of the royal family is permitted to marry a Roman Catholic. If any of them ever wished to do so, or wished to convert to the Catholic faith, they would have to renounce all royal rights and their place in the line of succession to the throne. By the Royal Marriage Act 皇家婚姻法of 1772, members of the royal family must obtain the Queens (Kings) permission to marry (recently including to divorce). IV. The House of Lords1. The House of Lords is the second Chamber of the United Kingdom Parliament. A major task is to examine and pass legislation (two-thirds of its time). The House plays a key role in revising legislation sent from the Commons. It also initiates legislation, and so shares the burden of the legislative load. Another important function is to act as a check on government by scrutinising its activities. It complements the work of the Commons. Members of the Lords are not elected and are unpaid. They have a wide range of experience and provide a source of independent expertise. The House also has a judicial role as the final Court of Appeal.2. The House of Lords consists of 740 members in 2010，(There is no upper limit on the total number of Members.)and there are three different types: life Peers, (爵位不能世袭的终身议员, about 630 now)bishops (26 fixed members altogether since the mid-19th century) and elected hereditary Peers.（1999年废除世袭上院议员时，特选92名世袭贵族暂时保留上院议员资格直到下一次上院改革） The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removed the judicial function of the House of Lords from Parliament and set up a new, independent supreme court (from October 2009). It also changed the role of the Lord Chancellor; (以前的大法官，阁员之一, 兼任上议院议长) ending his role as a judge and indirectly as Speaker of the House of Lords. （即Lord Chancellor 不再是大法官和上议院议长了）The House held its first election for a Lord Speaker and Baroness Hayman was elected on 4 July 2006. The role was previously one of the Lords Chancellors responsibilities. 3. Theoretically the House of Lords is equal in power to the House of Commons, but in 1911 an act was passed under which the House of Lords could not prevent for more than two years a bill from passing into law. That period was reduced to one year by a further act passed when the Labour Government was in power in 1949. So the House of Lords has no power to prevent the passing of legislation approved by the House of Commons. V. The House of Commons1. The House of Commons has four core roles; it scrutinises the work of government, 审查，考核proposes and amends legislation, represents the citizens of the UK within the Parliament system and has the ability to amend taxation.2. The House of Commons holds the real power of the country. It consists of 650 members in 2010 who are elected from the 650 electoral districts of the UK called constituencies. 选区(Scotland, 75; Its members hold their seats for a maximum period of five years. The head of the House of Commons is the Speaker议长or President of the Chamber, who is very influential only next to the Prime Minister in rank. The British greatly value the opposition of parties. 3. Parties：There are three major parties now: Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat. In Parliament, the party with the largest number of seats is invited by the Queen to form the government. The leader becomes Prime Minister, and he chooses the ministers and Cabinet members. And the one with the next largest number of members becomes the official Opposition to the Government, 反对党the leader of the latter taking the title “Leader of Her Majestys Opposition.” Politics was dominated by the Tory (or Conservative) Party and the Whig (or Liberal) Party until 1914. Later the new Labour Party took the place of the Liberal Party. Since the end of the Second World War the Conservative and the Labour Parties have been in power by turns. If no single party has a majority of MPs in the Commons, two or more parties can work together as a coalition government.4. The executive power is vested in归属于the Ministers, especially in the Cabinetthe Prime Minister and his most important colleagues. The Prime Minister and other Ministers sit on the Government Front Bench in the House, on the Speakers right. Their party supporters fill up the Government Back Benches behind their leaders. Across the floor of the House, direct facing the Government benches, sit the leaders of the party in opposition with their supporters occupying the benches behind them. 5. The first task of a new House of Commons is to elect one of its members as Speaker 议长 who presides over their meetings and sees that procedure is followed. (Lord Speaker in the House of Lords does not have such duty.) He controls debates, deciding which Member shall speak and seeing that Members do not stray too far from the subject of debate. He directs the voting and pronounces the result. 6. Since 1911, Members of Parliament have been paid a salary. ( 92,362198,661, Government Whip组织秘书and the Prime Minister)VI. The Local Governments1. The present system of the local government was introduced in April 1974 after the national reform on the basis of the Local government Act of 1972. 2. In England and Wales, (1)counties 郡(在美國為“县”)are the largest administrative areas. They were called “shires” 5FaiE.郡Below them are (2)urban districts, (非自治)市区 rural districts 乡区of non-county boroughs. 5bQrE自治市镇(3) Parishes 行政堂区（通常与教会的教区划界相一致）are the lowest administrative areas. 3. In Scotland, the local government is on a two-tier basis. 9 regions are divided into 53 districts. In Northern Ireland, there are 26 districts. VII. Complementary Material1. By 1931 some dependent states evolved out of former colonies were recognized as having special status within the empire by the Statute of Westminster, which referred specifically to a “British Commonwealth of Nations.” The rapid growth of nationalism in other parts of the empire from the 1920s produced a long series of grants of independence, beginning with that to India in 1947. In 1949 India announced its intention to become a republic, which would have required its withdrawal from the Commonwealth under the existing rules, but at a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in London in April 1949 it was agreed that India could continue its membership if it accepted the British crown as only “the symbol of the free association” of Commonwealth members. That declaration was the first to drop the adjective British, and thereafter the official name of the organization became the Commonwealth of Nations, or simply the Commonwealth. Some members opted to withdraw from the organization, as did Ireland (1949), South Africa (1961), and Pakistan (1972), though both South Africa and Pakistan eventually rejoined (the former in 1994 and the latter in 1989). Commonwealth membership grew dramatically in the second half of the 20th century as former dependencies attained sovereignty. Most of the dependent states granted independence chose Commonwealth membership, and the organization has even grown to include Mozambique 5mEuzEm5bi:k (莫桑比克,非洲东南部国家,joined 1995), which was the first country granted entry that was never part of the British Empire or under the control of any member.Commonwealth action is based upon consultation between members, which is conducted through correspondence and through conversations in meetings. Each member country sends an emissary, （5emIsErI使者）called a high commissioner, （高级专员)to the capitals of the other members. A Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is held every two years. At the meeting in Singapore in 1971, members adopted a declaration that restated the Commonwealths voluntary and cooperative nature and committed the organization to promoting international peace, fighting racism, opposing colonial domination, and reducing inequities in5ekwiti in wealth. This declaration was echoed at the meeting in Harare, ( hErB:reI哈拉雷津巴布韦首都,旧称索尔兹伯里) Zimbabwe, zim5bB:bwei in 1991, when leaders further committed the organization to human rights and democracy.Britain has huge overseas investments, both government and private, in the Commonwealth. When Britain joined the European Economic Community欧洲共同市场(later called the European Community欧洲共同体) in 1973, the trade privileges of member countries began to be reduced. Now Commonwealth members have trade agreements with the European Union. 欧洲联盟Many of the exports of Commonwealth countries go to other member countries. In 1996 the Commonwealth Africa Investment Fund was established to increase investment in that continent. There are also significant educational links between members, as many British teachers travel overseas and many students from Commonwealth members study in Britain. Other cultural links include the Commonwealth Games, a sporting competition held every four years.(European Community: An economic and political organization formed in 1967 from the consolidation of three western European treaty organizations, the European Economic Community, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community. Its members are the same as those of the European Economic Community.欧洲共同体：为巩固并加强三个西欧协议组织于1967年所组成的经济及社会团体，这三个西欧协议组织包括欧洲共同市场、欧洲煤矿及钢铁联盟、及欧洲原子能源协会，欧洲共同体的成员与欧洲共同市场完全相同)In addition to independent members, the Commonwealth also comprises dependent territories, which are formally governed by Great Britain, Australia, or New Zealand. Most of the older dependencies are colonies. Dependencies include Anguilla, ANwIlE安圭拉岛(位于西印度群岛) Bermuda, 百慕大群岛(北大西洋西部群岛) the Cayman Islands, 5keimEn 5ailEndz 开曼群岛拉丁美洲 the Falkland Islands, 福克兰群岛南大西洋(即马尔维纳斯群岛) Gibraltar, dVi5brC:ltE直布罗陀(西班牙南端港市)and the Turks and Caicos Islands (Britain) keIkEs凯科斯群岛(位于拉丁美洲,岛国巴哈马东南); Christmas Island（圣诞岛：爪哇岛南部印度洋东部的一座岛屿，由澳大利亚管辖。在1888年由英国吞并，1958年主权归澳大利亚）, the Cocos Islands, （可可群岛：印度洋东面的群岛，在苏门答腊西南。1609年被发现，1826年成为英国殖民地，现今由澳大利亚管理）the Coral Sea Islands, 珊瑚海and Norfolk Island (Australia) 5nC:fEk诺福克; and Niue and Tokelau (ni5u:ei纽埃岛南太平洋中部在汤加群岛以东, 托克劳群岛，位于南太平洋。属新西兰New Zealand). Britain has followed a policy of leading the dependencies toward self-government by creating territorial governments in them; these governments comprise a lawmaking body (often called the legislative council); an executive body (called the executive council), which with the governor is the executive authority; and an independent judiciary. At first government posts are appointive, but an increasing elected element is introduced, as constitutions are altered, until elected officials are made wholly responsible for local affairs. After a colony achieves internal self-government, its legislature may apply to the British Parliament for complete independence. It then decides whether to remain in the Commonwealth. (并不努力要控制别人，现代英国还是很民主的)2. Major components of the British Constitution:(1) Acts of Parliament Parliament ActsRepresentation of the People ActsAct of Union 1707Habeas Corpus Act 1679(2) The Prerogative特权 of the CrownThe Crown appoints and dismisses Ministers and OfficialsThe Crown makes treatiesThe Crown summons and dissolves Parliament(3) Conventions of the ConstitutionThe power of the Crown are exercised mainly by MinistersThe Crown must act on the advice of MinistersMinisters are responsible to Parliament for their actionsThe sovereignty of Parliament (the Queen must assent to Bills passed by Parliament)(4)Common Law (习惯法, 普通法，判例法, 不成文法)Rights upheld by courts, but not derived from Acts of Parliament(5) Parliamentary PrivilegeFreedom of speech of MPs in debate3. There is no single written law called “The British Constitution.” This makes it useful in practice but adds to the difficulty of understanding the constitution. It means that changes in the Constitution may come about more easily and less noticeably. (In contrast, a change in altering the powers of the American president is much more complicated, and it must be done in a special way.) This advantage enables Britain to adapt her system of government to suit a changing society with less difficulty than many other countries. 4. Peerage: the rank, title, or jurisdiction(权限, 管辖区) of a peer or peeress; a duchy, marquisate 5mB:kwizit, county, viscountcy (vaIkaJntsI also viscounty vaIkaJntI), or barony.贵族或女贵族的爵位、头衔或权限；公爵、侯爵、伯爵、子爵或男爵5. Privy Council: A council of the British sovereign that until the 17th century was the supreme legislative body, that now consists of cabinet ministers ex officio (eks E5fIFIEJ按职务或地位) and others appointed for life, and that has no important function except through its Judicial Committee, which in certain cases acts as a supreme appellate (E5pelit受理上诉的) court in the Commonwealth. 枢密院：英王的咨询委员会，17世纪以前一直是最高立法机构，现在由内阁大臣和其他终身任职的官员组成，除了通过其司法委员会发挥作用外没什么重要作用，它的司法委员会在某些时候作为英联邦的最高上诉法院6. The House of Lords is the oldest part of Parliament. Before the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Anglo-Saxon kings consulted the Great Council大议会before making important decisions. Between 1066 and 1215 the king ruled along, but in 1215 King Joh